Physics Seminar: Dr Adrian Baule

‘Jamming of non-spherical particles’

by Adrian Baule, School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London.

Abstract:The question of how particle shape affects the dynamical and structural properties of particle aggregates is one of the outstanding problems in statistical mechanics with profound technological implications. Recently, it has become clear that also in the a-thermal regime the variation of particle shape allows the design of jammed granular materials with specific optimized properties [1–3]. However, a systematic exploration of the effect of shape variation in jammed systems typically relies on empirical studies based on extensive computer simulations. The underlying reason is that jammed systems are governed by geometry rather than energy and are thus not described a priori by the conventional statistical mechanics framework. In this talk, I present recent theoretical progress on our understanding of jamming in systems of non-spherical particles based on (i) a mean field approach in the spirit of Edwards statistical mechanics for granular systems [4], and (ii) an analytically solvable model of jamming, where the effect of shape variation can be systematically explored [5].